Side Effects of Treatment
by Mattk
Summary: Even when everything changes, some things stay the same.  And that can be a good thing.  Takes place immediately after chapter 8 of Bleeding Out


Ron had finished crying.

It had taken a good long while, and Kim had just held him tight and made comforting noises while he did it. Slowly, the sobs had trailed off to a few gasps and hitches, and then, finally, silence. His breathing was still a little shaky, or Kim would have been afraid he'd fallen asleep, which she didn't want. She'd picked him up and carried him enough times so that his weight was no great surprise, but it was a bit warm to have a ninety-eight-point-six degree blanket.

"Hey," she said gently, nudging him with her shoulder. "Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah," he answered. It was a bit muffled, but that was to be expected, seeing as how he was speaking directly into her shoulder and the mattress. He raised his head and met her eyes. His eyes were red, but dry. "Yeah, I am. Better than I've been in a long time, actually."

"Good," she stroked his back a little more. "I'd hate to think I put you through that for no reason. My Dad told me once – "

"Hey, whoah! Full stop, KP!" He raised himself up on his arms. "No talking about Papa Possible right now! In fact…" He paused. Blinked. Glanced down the length of their intertwined bodies. "Do you really want to talk about _anything_ when we're still…when we're like…" He swallowed hard and decided to be blunt. "When I'm still _inside _you?"

She blushed. She actually blushed. Or was that more of a happy flush? "I don't mind," she said. "You can stay if you want to."

"Oh, I don't mind, it's just that my brain isn't going to start working again until…here, let me…"

He lifted himself up off her, and she gasped as he slid out. He was immediately back over her, hovering solicitously. "Are you okay?" He asked. "Did I hurt you?"

She grinned, reached up, and pushed him aside and down to the bed. "That was a good gasp, Ron," she said.

"Oh."

Ron settled down, and for a moment they lay together in silence.

Now for the part they'd both been worried about. Talking afterward. Which was complicated by the fact that _two_ fairly enormous emotional events had just happened, not just one.

Oh, yeah. Talking was gonna be tricky.

Ron was the one to finally break the ice. Kind of.

"So."

"So."

"So…not virgins anymore."

Okay, so he was picking topic "A". Kim took a deep breath. "Nope."

"Feel any different?"

She shrugged. "A little sore," she admitted.

That wasn't what he'd meant and she knew it, and he knew she knew it, but he decided to go with it anyway.

"That reminds me of something." He sat up. "Could you…?" He asked as he gently pushed at her hip. Obligingly, she rolled onto her side. He looked at where she'd been lying, and then let her roll back. All he said during this odd procedure was "Huh."

A bit puzzled, Kim settled back into where she'd been…and made a face.

"What?" Ron asked, suddenly hovering again. "What's wrong?"

"I found the notorious wet spot," she answered, squirming uncomfortably.

"Oh." He looked down at her, puzzled. "How can you tell, with how much we sweated?"

"You try lying in it," She grumped. "You'll know."

"Okay."

Surprised, Kim let him climb over her and push her over to his side of the bed. His expression was thoughtful as he settled down where she'd been. "Yep," he agreed. "I can tell the difference. Don't see how the ick-factor is that much higher than all the sweat, though. I'm just glad it wasn't blood."

"Blood? Is that what you were looking for just now?"

Now it was Ron's turn to blush. "Uh…yes?"

"Not saying that never happens, Ron, but you've still read too many romance novels."

"Just the good parts," he protested. "Um…mostly."

She smiled at him fondly and shook her head, then reached out and began to stroke his flank. "I really am okay, Ron. From what I've heard, all the running and jumping and leaping and bouncing around I do might've made a diff. Or maybe all that fooling around we did this spring." Then she grinned at him. "Or maybe you just did a good job." She leaned in and gave him a quick peck, then began stroking his hair instead of his flank.

He smiled back at her. "Can I go with 'C', please?"

"Wouldn't have offered it if it wasn't a choice."

Then her smile faded a little.

"What?" Ron asked. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," she said, a brittle, too-bright smile replacing the real one she'd just worn. "Talking about the romance novels just got me to thinking. I've been deflowered now, right?"

"Uh…guess so," Ron agreed, wondering just where this was going.

"Does that mean that I'm just a stem now?"

Ron almost laughed before he realized that she was only kinda joking. Instead, he pretended to ponder the question carefully. "Nah," he answered at last, reaching over and stroking her hair. "You're still a beautiful flower. You're just fertilized now, that's all."

Kim closed her eyes tight, her lips started working, and her shoulders started shaking. For a moment, Ron thought that he'd said the wrong thing. Then she burst out laughing.

Nope. The Rondo scores.

"I sure hope not!" She gasped. "My father…_both _of us…black hole…"

"Hey! I told you not to bring up Papa Possible!"

He moved to punish her for that transgression, but she was quicker, and the battle was joined.

After a few minutes of tickling and blowing raspberries off body parts that had never been available before, they collapsed back onto the bed, intertwined and laughing.

And that was good. That was right. _Some_ things in their relationship had to stay the same.

They separated a little – it was _hot_, and they were pretty worked up – but didn't stop touching and stroking. Slowly, the laughter faded, and Kim's expression turned serious.

"We still have a lot to talk about, you know," she said.

He sighed. "Yeah. I know. But we have some time to do it in. I don't know about you, but it's been too long since I've had some real peace. Do you think we could – "

"Marinate?" Kim suggested. "Yeah. I think we could. Better set the alarm clock, though, just in case. I'm no more eager to face your mother than you are to – "

"Don't say it, KP! Don't say it!"


End file.
